Share of population with no formal education in Nicaragua
Nicaragua: Share of population with no formal education was 9.7% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Share of population with no formal education in Nicaragua, 1870–2020
Source: Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Nicaragua recorded 9.7% for share of population with no formal education in 2020. That is the lowest value across all 31 years on record.
The figure is down 37.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population with no formal education in Nicaragua peaked at 95.8% in 1870 and was at its lowest, 9.7%, in 2020.
That places Nicaragua 30th out of 111 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 31 years of available data.
Share of population with no formal education in Nicaragua, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 95.8% | — |
| 1875 | 94.7% | -1.1% |
| 1880 | 93.5% | -1.3% |
| 1885 | 91.9% | -1.7% |
| 1890 | 90.0% | -2.1% |
| 1895 | 87.9% | -2.3% |
| 1900 | 78.8% | -10.4% |
| 1905 | 75.5% | -4.2% |
| 1910 | 73.4% | -2.8% |
| 1915 | 71.8% | -2.2% |
| 1920 | 69.8% | -2.8% |
| 1925 | 66.9% | -4.2% |
| 1930 | 65.8% | -1.6% |
| 1935 | 65.7% | -0.2% |
| 1940 | 65.4% | -0.5% |
| 1945 | 65.0% | -0.6% |
| 1950 | 64.1% | -1.4% |
| 1955 | 59.9% | -6.6% |
| 1960 | 54.6% | -8.8% |
| 1965 | 50.5% | -7.5% |
| 1970 | 47.5% | -5.9% |
| 1975 | 44.9% | -5.5% |
| 1980 | 42.6% | -5.1% |
| 1985 | 39.1% | -8.2% |
| 1990 | 34.6% | -11.5% |
| 1995 | 30.6% | -11.6% |
| 2000 | 25.3% | -17.3% |
| 2005 | 19.5% | -22.9% |
| 2010 | 15.4% | -21.0% |
| 2015 | 12.2% | -20.8% |
| 2020 | 9.7% | -20.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 95.2% | 94.7% | 95.8% | 2 |
| 1880s | 92.7% | 91.9% | 93.5% | 2 |
| 1890s | 89.0% | 87.9% | 90.0% | 2 |
| 1900s | 77.2% | 75.5% | 78.8% | 2 |
| 1910s | 72.6% | 71.8% | 73.4% | 2 |
| 1920s | 68.3% | 66.9% | 69.8% | 2 |
| 1930s | 65.8% | 65.7% | 65.8% | 2 |
| 1940s | 65.2% | 65.0% | 65.4% | 2 |
| 1950s | 62.0% | 59.9% | 64.1% | 2 |
| 1960s | 52.5% | 50.5% | 54.6% | 2 |
| 1970s | 46.2% | 44.9% | 47.5% | 2 |
| 1980s | 40.9% | 39.1% | 42.6% | 2 |
| 1990s | 32.6% | 30.6% | 34.6% | 2 |
| 2000s | 22.4% | 19.5% | 25.3% | 2 |
| 2010s | 13.8% | 12.2% | 15.4% | 2 |
| 2020s | 9.7% | 9.7% | 9.7% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Nicaragua
More education data for Nicaragua
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 131,337 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 463,660 (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 880,080 (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 0.9095 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.129 units per person (2023)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 880,080 (2023)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth 0.9095 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population with no formal education in Nicaragua?
- Share of population with no formal education in Nicaragua was 9.7% in 2020, according to Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of population with no formal education recorded in Nicaragua?
- The highest recorded value was 95.8% in 1870.
- What is the lowest share of population with no formal education recorded in Nicaragua?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.7% in 2020.
- How does Nicaragua rank for share of population with no formal education?
- Nicaragua ranks 30th out of 111 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of population with no formal education rising or falling in Nicaragua?
- Over the last ten years it is down 37.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Nicaragua data come from?
- The figures come from Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of population with no formal education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
The share of adults aged between 15 and 64 years old with no formal education.